Deadly cobra that stowed away on NJ-bound ship dies

A venomous cobra that stowed away on a New Jersey-bound cargo ship has died.

potowizard, ThinkStock

Officials at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo say the snake was in poor condition when it was captured in the ship's hold and could not be nursed back to health. It died Monday.

The cobra was on a ship headed from Singapore to Port Elizabeth, New Jersey when the crew discovered it on Dec. 10th.

The ship docked Dec. 14 and two Bronx Zoo herpetologists bagged the 18-inch cobra and brought it back to the zoo.

Zoo director Jim Breheny says the snake not eaten for several weeks. He says veterinarians did what they could to save the snake but they did not succeed. Breheny says zoo officials "are disappointed the snake has died."

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)